


Aplomb - Christmas Surprise

by cutsycat



Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1203]
Category: NCIS
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-09-30 23:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17232866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutsycat/pseuds/cutsycat
Summary: Gibbs and Tony pretend they have holiday plans only to take Christmas shifts for their coworkers and run into each other at work when they were both supposed to be off.





	Aplomb - Christmas Surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rose_malmaison](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rose_malmaison/gifts).



> Another dictionary.com word of the day drabble. This time from 08/16/2002 for the word [aplomn](http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2002/08/16/aplomb).
> 
> aplomb  
> Assurance of manner or of action; self-possession; confidence; coolness.
> 
> This is for the [Happy Holiday Challenge](https://ncis-https://ncis-discuss.livejournal.com/155018.html): Holiday Wishes 2018. Particularly Holiday Wish #1.

“Uh huh. I understand, dad.” It took all of Tony’s aplomb to keep the disappointment from his voice and his face. He should have expected this, but for some reason he’d actually believed that his father would come through this year. “See you for New Year’s dad.”

“Plans fall through, DiNozzo?” Gibbs couldn’t help asking after Tony hung up the phone.

Tony reached back and scratched his head sheepishly. “Nah. Just with my dad. My frat brothers and I are still going to get together. I didn’t really expect Senior to actually show up anyway.”

The truth was Tony had no plans for Christmas now. He’d been banking on actually spending time with his dad and well that was out the window now, but he didn’t want anyone inviting him over out of pity, so wanted to make it seem like he had something special going on for the holidays. 

“What about you, Gibbs? Frat brothers would be happy to meet you.”

“Nah. I already have plans.” Gibbs didn’t want to hang out with Tony’s frat brothers and constantly be reminded how out of his league Tony was. 

Gibbs didn’t actually have plans beyond a vague plan to deliver toys to the children’s home or a homeless shelter or something like that for Christmas, but he didn’t want pity or to be expected to go clubbing with Tony’s frat brothers. He just knew that he’d end up watching Tony hit on young woman after young woman and spend the whole evening depressed as it was slammed into his face that he wasn’t what Tony wanted. So a vague already have plans would have to do, hopefully.

Most people wouldn’t question it, but Tony was one of the few who stood up to him and could read him to a certain extent. Gibbs hoped this wasn’t one of the times that Tony could see right through him. A holiday alone would be better than a holiday of watching what he couldn’t have.

Tony nodded and they continued their work. Assuming they didn’t catch another case, they would be off for the holidays after today. Right now, they were just finishing up the reports on their last case and then they would be home free hopefully. 

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. He was home free. They didn’t catch a case.

Now, he could go home to his lack of plans and no one would be any the wiser. Heck, he could probably volunteer to take some people’s shifts on Christmas so that others could be with their families and Gibbs wouldn’t find out about it. It was something Tony had been known to do.

After all, he was single. No one would miss him if he didn’t come home on Christmas. That wasn’t true for a lot of the other agents. 

Plus, it would be better to have the distraction of work than to be home alone and constantly thinking about why Senior wasn’t there, yet again. With his mind made up, he made arrangements to take the shift for one of Balboa’s team. Tony knew with the MCRT not on call for the holidays that Balboa’s team definitely would be, so they were the easiest to arrange a swap with. 

Balboa always appreciated Tony’s insight into a case, so Tony knew he wouldn’t mind if Tony worked instead of one of his normal team member’s. What Tony hadn’t counted on was Gibbs switching with Balboa himself. It was a little disconcerting to come in on Christmas Eve and find his boss there instead of the team lead he expected.

Don’t get him wrong, it was great for Balboa. The guy deserved to spend some holidays with his family, but it sucked for Tony. There was no way that Gibbs wouldn’t figure out that his plans were fake, now.

Though, come to think of it, Gibbs had also said he had plans. Was working the holidays really the plans he meant? Deciding to start off with the offensive, Tony murmured, “You had plans, huh?”

Gibbs shrugged. “They fell through. And what about yours?”

Tony didn’t want to admit that his plans had been made up, so he waved off the question, “There will still be plenty of time to get drunk with my frat brothers tonight if we don’t catch a case.”

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. “I’m pretty sure I saw you on the schedule for tomorrow too.”

Tony grinned sheepishly, feeling caught out. “Well let’s just say I’m more concerned with letting other people spend the holidays with their family than about hanging out with my frat brothers.”

“Or perhaps you never had any plans with them?” Gibbs asked archly.

Tony smiled widely. “Perhaps.”

The others on Balboa’s team glanced between the two MCRT agents with a touch of concern, but when a new case came up they immediately headed to the scene and started working it. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the case was rather cut and dried.

For once, it was quickly determined to be a suicide and wrapped up that same day. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. No one wanted to work a case on Christmas. 

Tony hoped this meant that Gibbs would forget about Tony’s little lie about Christmas plans.

That was too much to hope for as Gibbs growled, “DiNozzo. My place. Now,” as they left.

Tony sighed and drove his car to Gibbs’ house instead of his apartment. He wondered what exactly Gibbs had planned. Was Gibbs going to ream him out for lying about his plans?

That didn’t seem normal Gibbs’ behavior, but then Tony wasn’t used to Gibbs inviting him over to his house for Christmas either. Tony pulled in to Gibbs’ driveway and was surprised to see Christmas lights and decorations in Gibbs’ front yard. Since when did Gibbs decorate for Christmas?

He didn’t remember seeing it decorated in any previous years. “What’s with the decorations?” Tony asked as he wandered into Gibbs’ house through the constantly unlocked door.

The inside of Gibbs’ house was even more decked out than the outside, though there seemed to be a strange abundance of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. Just what was Gibbs up to? “Have you been replaced by pod!Gibbs?”

Gibbs grunted. “Nah. Abby decided to decorate.”

Tony nodded. That made a lot of sense actually. Abby had a tendency to go overboard and she tended to enjoy watching people kiss regardless of whether the people kissing were comfortable or not. 

“You have to be careful when you let Abby decorate.”

“Next time, I’ll give her limits. I didn’t know it could turn into this.” Gibbs shrugged, slowly moving closer to Tony.

Tony never worried about Gibbs. He trusted the man, perhaps more than he should, but Gibbs was the one man who had never let him down. Tony didn’t even realize what Gibbs was doing until the man had cupped his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

“Gibbs, what?” Tony spluttered, when he regained control of his faculties and pulled back from the kiss instead of kissing his boss back like he had been.

Gibbs smiled guilelessly, “Mistletoe.”

”Bastard!” Tony glared. He’d had a crush on Gibbs since he tackled him in Baltimore, but with that response Tony had no idea if Gibbs returned his feelings or if he was just pandering to Abby. Abby was Gibbs’ favorite, after all.

Gibbs just smirked and returned to his steaks. He’d wanted Tony since they met in Baltimore, but being his supervisor Gibbs didn’t want to pressure Tony into a relationship. He really hadn’t expected Abby to cover his house in mistletoe when he asked her to decorate his place for Christmas yesterday. 

He’d wanted to do something to make the day a little more special for Tony and him when he’d switched with Balboa and found out that DiNozzo was also working the holidays. That didn’t stop him from taking advantage of Abby’s overindulgence to steal a kiss. However, Tony’s response confused him, so when Tony asked him why he went with the innocuous answer that wouldn’t affect their working relationship.

He remembered Christmases with Shannon when her and Kelly would decorate the tree and Shannon would convince him to help her cook a feast, so that they could go all out. Sometimes Jackson would help out as well as their relationship had been a little better when Shannon and Kelly were still around. He couldn’t help wondering if Tony had ever had a traditional Christmas and had decided to try to recreate a bit of the Christmas happiness he remembered for Tony.

Tony watched Gibbs cook the steaks as he tried to figure out if Gibbs was interested in him or not. He was usually pretty good at telling whether someone was interested, but Gibbs ran so hot and cold that Tony couldn’t tell if he was just being his normal bastard self and messing with Tony or if he was actually interested. He’d been around Gibbs enough to know his humor was a little on the drier side.

Tony hadn’t actually gotten into a prank war with Gibbs, but he knew that Gibbs could hold his own and sometimes Gibbs’ idea of a joke was a bit questionable. All of this just made it even more difficult for Tony to tell whether Gibbs was interested in him or just in the Christmas spirit and following along with Abby’s joke. Tony knew that Abby had put the mistletoe up in hope that Tony and Gibbs would sort their feelings out.

He’d had more than one conversation with Abby where she complained about the UST between them. Tony didn’t think it was as bad as she thought it was, but she insisted their UST could drill holes through wood if they weren’t careful. She’d told Tony more than once that if he wouldn’t do anything about it, she would.

He’d made the mistake of spilling his feelings for Gibbs to her one night when they were clubbing and the alcohol had gotten the better of him. Gibbs asking her to decorate would have been too much for her to resist. Still if Gibbs was going to be that way, two could play at that game.

Tony made his way over to Gibbs and after Gibbs had flipped both steaks, he pulled him into a kiss of his own. Pulling back with a smirk, Tony walked over to the couch and sat down.

“What was that for?”

“Mistletoe.”

Gibbs glared. He knew exactly what Tony was doing and he didn’t appreciate it. Or rather, he wanted it to be real and not just due to the Mistletoe, but didn’t know how to find out if that was the case without overstepping professional behavior of boss and subordinate. 

Gibbs knew Tony played up the playboy aspect at work, but while he may date that many girls he definitely didn’t put out with all of them. Still Tony was a huge flirt and a kiss meant little in the grand scheme of things as far as Tony was concerned. Gibbs snarled.

He hated this. He just wanted to know if Tony was interested in him and have a memorable holiday. Preferably happy memories instead of the sadder Christmases he’d had of late.

Maybe the present he had squirreled away for Tony would be the revealing factor and allow him to figure out if his feelings were actually returned or not. He was currently cursing himself for starting the kissing. His body was already reacting, despite him not wanting it to.

He was old enough that it shouldn’t be raring to go at the slightest drop. It was Tony. Of course, that was the problem.

Tony made him feel like a damn teenager again. He hated it and loved it at the same time. He would love it even more if he knew Tony returned his feelings and he could actually release some of this sexual tension that he’d been carrying around ever since Tony tackled him in Baltimore.

“You need any help?” Tony asked as he realized the steaks were getting close to being done and he hadn’t seen anything else to go with the meal.

Gibbs grunted. “There’s some green stuff in the fridge.”

Tony interpreted that as do something with the green stuff. “Ok.”

Tony wasn’t about to give up on the game they were playing though. He was going to up the ante until they talked or something happened. Instead of heading directly into the kitchen, Tony stopped in front of Gibbs for another kiss. This one instead of fast and rushed was slow and soft, a hint of his feelings hidden in it.

”Why?”

“Mistletoe,” Tony grinned.

Gibbs snarled. He really regretted starting this now. He could tell Tony was having fun with this, but he had no idea what Tony’s end game was.

Tony waved and practically skipped into the kitchen, excited to see what Gibbs’ response to his upping the ante would be. Tony opened the fridge and peered at it to find whatever green stuff Gibbs was talking about. There wasn’t much in the fridge, but Tony did find some dilapidated green beans. 

Tony assumed that must be the greens Gibbs was talking about. When Gibbs had first said greens Tony had assumed salad. Still despite the less than fresh appearance, Tony knew he could make these green beans taste amazing. 

Well he could in his kitchen. Tony opened cupboard door after cupboard door looking for spices. He wasn’t finding any. Didn’t Gibbs know that spices could fix the most horrible of foods? “Gibbs! Where are your spices?”

Gibbs left the steaks and entered the kitchen. Stepping up behind Tony who was in front of his spice cabinet, Gibbs replied, “Right here,” as he swooped in and gave Tony a soft peck on the lips before opening the cabinet in front of him and winking as he returned to tending the steak.

“Why?” Tony protested as Gibbs left.

Gibbs just pointed up at the ceiling. Tony looked up, saw the mistletoe, and sighed. Mistletoe, of course.

Tony ignored the kissing competition they had going on and focused on the spices. Gibbs didn’t have all the spices he wanted, but he would make do. He grabbed a few of the italian type spices and some of the spices generally used in meat rubs and set them on the counter by the stove.

Tony started the green beans steaming on the stove. He added some butter and the italian seasonings that he found in Gibbs’ spice cabinet. Then he left them to cook for a little bit. The spices generally used for meat rubs would be tossed in once the beans were a little more cooked.

Tony waited a few minutes. Just long enough for the beans to become a touch al dente and then he pulled them out of the steamer. Now, for the finishing touches to make them super delicious. 

First, a little butter in the heated fry pan and then the green beans went in. Tony moved them around with the spatula as he sprinkled some paprika and a few other spices that were used in rubs onto the beans. He also added more rosemary and marjoram to complete the flavor palette. 

Tony grabbed one of the green beans with a fork to try it and was happy with the flavor, though it was still a touch too al dente. He gave it a few more minutes in the pan before turning off the heat and plating the green beans, so that they wouldn’t overcook. He returned to the living room with the plates to find that the steaks were also done.

Tony held out one plate and then the other to Gibbs as Gibbs placed a steak on each plate. Tony wanted to get Gibbs back for the kitchen, but he couldn’t figure out how to do so with the plates, so he just settled onto the couch instead. Gibbs chose the armchair and Tony flicked the TV onto some Christmas movie. 

A companionable silence descended into the room, aside from the sound of the Christmas movie. Tony recognized the movie as A Christmas Carol. It was easy to place once Scrooge showed up. 

When the first ghost visited Scrooge, Gibbs broke the silence, “I remember watching this with Shannon and Kelly. Kelly absolutely loved Tiny Tim.”

Tony wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t even know who Shannon and Kelly were. “Exes?”

Gibbs shook his head. “Nah. Shannon was my first wife. Never an ex. She died, along with our daughter Kelly while I was oversees for Desert Storm.”

“I’m sorry, Gibbs. I didn’t know.”

Gibbs grunted. He didn’t bother repeating his rule about apologies even though the words were useless in his book. It’s not like they changed what had happened.

“Don’t share about them much. Still hurts to think of losing them.”

Tony nodded. He had never lost a spouse or child, but he remembered losing his mother. It wasn’t easy. 

He couldn’t begin to imagine what Gibbs was going through, but he appreciated the faith Gibbs had in him to share something that difficult. Tony couldn’t help wondering if Gibbs wasn’t just being his normal bastard self with the kissing. 

Maybe Gibbs really did have feelings for him. Tony couldn’t imagine why Gibbs chose now to share about his first wife and daughter otherwise. While Tony mulled that over in his head, Gibbs took his plate to the kitchen and put it in the sink.

He’d deal with it later, after Tony left. Then Gibbs went to the basement and retrieved the gift he’d made for Tony. He hoped that Tony would like it.

“Here.” Gibbs shoved the wrapped box into Tony’s hands.

“Gibbs?” Tony looked up questioningly.

Gibbs just nodded to the box and waited for Tony to open it. Tony stared at Gibbs for a while before setting his empty plate on the coffee table and opening the box. He used his belt knife that had been a gift from Gibbs after their first year together to cut through the tape.

When Tony pushed the box flaps out of the way, so that he could see what was in the box, he just stared for a bit. This must have taken Gibbs forever to make. Tony finally, slowly, ran his finger along the edge of the design needing to know what it felt like to the touch.

At first, Gibbs worried that Tony didn’t like it when the man said nothing, but when Tony touched it with an almost reverence, Gibbs knew that it was a good gift. He’d had a hard time figuring out what to get Tony and had almost chickened out when he’d come up with the plan to make Christmas memories with Tony since neither of them had plans for Christmas besides work as he’d known that it would make his feelings for the man, obvious. After the playful kissing Gibbs was hopeful that this would be the push Tony needed to take the relationship over the edge from friends to romantic partner.

“How did you know?” Tony whispered, still in awe as he stared at the miniature piano complete with real piano keys.

“When you’re thinking your fingers are always moving as if playing something on a piano. I thought you could keep this at work for when you need to work something out through song.”

Tony smiled at Gibbs and after everything he just had to ask, “How long have you been working on this?”

“It’s a secret.”

Tony stared into Gibbs’ eyes as if seeing his entire soul before following through and demanding, “And how long have you been in love with me?”

Gibbs sighed. He was happy to get this off his chest, but he was also worried as Tony still hadn’t said anything about his own feelings. “It feels like forever, but has only been since Baltimore.”

“Me too,” Tony smiled at Gibbs as he reeled him for a kiss and maybe more. 

When Christmas dawned bright and early the next morning, both Tony and Gibbs were asleep in Gibbs’ bedroom. Neither of them had any regrets and both of them hoped that this would be the start of many happy Christmas memories together as they both dressed to head to work. Despite the new relationship, they had still agreed to work Christmas for Balboa and one of his team members.

They couldn’t slack off just because Tony had started sleeping with the boss. If they had slacked off, it would have meant that they couldn’t keep work and personal life separate which is never a good thing when in a relationship between subordinate and boss. They exchanged a last kiss as they exited Gibbs’ front door and headed into a hopefully new and exciting life together as more than just work partners.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of two stocking stuffers for LJ that are not for me that I plan to fulfill.
> 
> It's almost the end of 2018, better get your last 2018 prompts added to my collection quick if you want to prompt me for 2018. My 2018 Prompt collection is open [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2018/profile). Just click the sign up link. ;) It will remain open until the beginning of 2019. I'm hoping to complete all the 2018 prompts by the end of 2019. Here's hoping muse cooperates.
> 
> If you are not an ao3 member, you can prompt me [here](http://cutsycat.livejournal.com/50701.html). Please follow the same rules as are listed in the above link. However, because this is a handmade prompt form(that thinks it's a poll), it is considerably more limited than what ao3 provides, so please use the ao3 form if you're an ao3 member. Please note the name option is for a name that I can say this is for so that you know it's for you. Since this is for non ao3 members it won't be true gifts, but you will be mentioned in the notes.
> 
> For any authors that want to chat and/or are looking for a place where they can toss plot ideas around and get input from people, you can come join my discord server that is specifically geared towards writing/encouraging people to write and authors. The invite link is [here](https://discord.gg/HFvwpCq). If you're not an author, but want to chat with me about writing/stories or anything else you are welcome to join. I reserve the right to boot you from my server if all you do is pester me about updates, however. *grin* Really anyone who wants to talk about writing and/or plot ideas for various stories is welcome to join. 
> 
> I've started a new [poll](https://cutsycat.livejournal.com/55450.html) regarding my series and which ones people most want to see continued in place of the Rapprochement series which I have brought to an end for now... 
> 
> Note: The Bishop Entanglement, Crazy Cat Tale, and Pregnant FBI Agent series will be continued no matter what, so you don't need to vote for those. For those who don't have livejournals just leave a comment with your responses. Thanks!
> 
> Also, I'm looking for some writing buddies. Full details are [here](https://cutsycat.livejournal.com/53610.html). It is friends locked, so you'll have to add me as a friend on lj before you can read it.
> 
> Also, Drakonyashka has translated a couple of my works into Russian. [Tutelage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378780) and [Imbue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378840). Go support them. 


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